


Are ANY truths universally acknowledged?

by Birgitte_The1FromTheMyths



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28804368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birgitte_The1FromTheMyths/pseuds/Birgitte_The1FromTheMyths
Summary: Two marriage proposals or, is anybody really happy?
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Charlotte Lucas
Kudos: 5





	Are ANY truths universally acknowledged?

Longbourn 

Elizabeth Bennet was not the type of girl (woman, really, by now) who liked to follow society’s rules, but even she knew that this time she had crossed a line. She was inclined to blame the strange events that had so recently taken place: first, Mr. Collins had proposed to her; after Elizabeth rejected him she had fought with her mother (her father, at least, had some sense); and then Mr. Collins had turned around and proposed to her good friend Charlotte. That her cousin had jumped so quickly from Elizabeth to Charlotte did not bother her at all; that Charlotte had so readily accepted his offer had turned her world upside down. Elizabeth had perhaps been foolish to believe that Charlotte viewed the world, and their relationship, the same way she did, but that did not make accepting the truth easier. 

Elizabeth thought back on the conversation, wondered if she could have approached her friend with a little less emotion, but knew in her heart that would have been a lie. “Engaged to Mr. Collins!” she had exclaimed when she heard the news. “My dear Charlotte – impossible!” Charlotte had been taken aback, surprised by the outburst that was such a departure from Elizabeth’s usual even temper, but nevertheless clocked her friend’s feelings. “I am not romantic,” Charlotte had begun, hoping to make the desperate Elizabeth understand her motivations. “I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’ character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.” There, Charlotte was doing this out of duty, out of a practical sense of self-preservation, not love. Still, Elizabeth felt stung. “Undoubtedly,” Elizabeth had replied, before leaning across the space between them and kissing her newly-engaged friend. 

(Based on the conversation 

between Charlotte & Elizabeth on p. 80 

of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen


End file.
